United States v. Sajoh Yates

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: June 13, 2019
• Docket: 18-3531
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 18-3531 ___________________________

United States of America,

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee,

v.

Sajoh Yates,

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant. ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Springfield ____________

Submitted: June 5, 2019 Filed: June 13, 2019 [Unpublished] ____________

Before COLLOTON, BOWMAN, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM. Sajoh Yates appeals the district court’s1 order committing him under 18 U.S.C. § 4245, which provides for hospitalization and treatment of an imprisoned person suffering from a mental disease or defect, until he no longer needs treatment or his prison sentence expires, whichever occurs first. Upon careful review of the record-- including the reports of two mental health professionals who opined that Yates met the criteria for commitment--we conclude the district court’s section 4245 finding was supported by a preponderance of the evidence, and was not clearly erroneous. See 18 U.S.C. § 4245(d); United States v. Bean, 373 F.3d 877, 879 (8th Cir. 2004) (standard of review). We also conclude that Yates’s pro se arguments offer no basis for relief.

The judgment of the district court is affirmed, and counsel’s motion to withdraw is granted. ______________________________

1 The Honorable M. Douglas Harpool, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri, adopting the report and recommendations of the Honorable David P. Rush, United States Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Missouri.

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